新时代大学英语口语教程学术交流 Unit 1 INTRODUCTION

Unit1INTRODUCTIONObjectivesObjectivesInthisunit,youaregoingtolearn:WhatisAcademicOralPresentation(AOP)?WhatconstitutesAOPcommunicativecompetence?WhatisAOPlanguagestyle?HowisAOPprepared,deliveredandevaluated?2新时代大学英语口语教程——学术交流2新时代大学英语口语教程——学术交流1 AOP1 AOPOverviewAsacademiccommunicationandcooperationbecomemoreandmoreglobalizd,Eglishhassecuredtheprimespotasthemostwidelyusedlanguageinacademiccontextsor,tobemoreexact,thedefactoworkinglanguageofthewholeofacademia.Togetaccesstoandcommunicatewiththeacademicworld,thefuturescholarswillhavetomakepresentationsinvarioussituationssuchasinseminars,lectures,internationalconferencesandthesisdefenses.Thecommunicativedemandsofthisnewerainvolvefarmorethansimplycontrollinglinguisticerrororpolishingstyle.Infact,internationalresearch,experienceandpracticeprovideevidencefortheheightened,complexandhighlydiversifiednatureofsuchdemands.Asaresult,EFLorESLhasgrowntobemorespecializedononehandandmoremultidisciplinaryontheother.Withinthreedecades,AcademicOralPresentation(AOP)hasevolvedfromarelativelyfringebranchofEnglishforAcademicPurpose(EAP)toapredominantforceinEnglishlanguageacquisitionandresearcharoundtheworld.EAPwasestablishedinaroundthe1980s,whichtogetherwithEOP(EnglishforOccupationalPurposes)hasmadeupthetwobranchesofESP(EnglishforSpecificPurposes).ItisusuallydefinedasteachingEnglishwiththeaimofhelpingnon-Englishlearnerstoacquireacademiclanguagecompetenceinuniversitysettings.Itisaratherbroadtermthatseemstocoverallaspectsoflanguagepracticeandacademicstudy,suchasvocabularydevelopment,listeningcomprehension,notetaking,criticalreading,grammarandpaperwriting.IncomparisonwithEAP,AOPhasamorespecifictarget—effectiveoralcommunication.ItalsodiffersfromAcademicSpokenEnglishinthatitismorethandailycommunicationinanacademicsetting.AOPfollowsamoreformalpatternandafixedtimeframe.Inaddition,thewholeprocessofcommunicationismulti-dimensionalandmoreinteractivethanamereaddress.Presenterscanresorttovarioushigh-techaidstoensurebetterinteractionwiththeaudience.10新时代大学英语口语教程——10新时代大学英语口语教程——学术交流Tosumup,AOPhasthefollowingfeatures:Multi-mediaBasedAsaproductoftheinformationera,AOPismulti-dimensionalcommunication.Itgoesbeyondmereverbaltalkandinvolvesbodylanguage,pictorialillustrationaswellasdigitaldemonstration.Inthisprocess,diversetechniquesofcommunicationsuchastheuseofwhiteboard,PPT,video/audioaidorevenVRpresentationcanbeadopted.Communication-orientedAOPinvolvesdevelopinglanguageproficiencythroughinteractionsembeddedinmeaningfulandauthenticcontexts.AOPisbynomeansaone-wayinputoroutput.Instead,itattachesgreatimportancetointeractivecommunicationintheacademiccontext.AsputbyHyland,AOPismorethananacademicmonologue,itdealswithinformationtransferandinvolvesconversationalexpressions.(Hyland,2006).Toensureeffectiveandproductivecommunication,AOPpractitionersthusshouldbeeligiblenotonlylinguisticallybutalsoacademically,culturallyandsocially.Multi-functionalAOPfacilitatesall-aroundacademiccommunication.Itcanbeusedinformativeaswellassummativeassessment.Itallowscaptureofnotonlytheresearchthathasbeendonebutalsoarangeofcognitiveandtransferableskills.AOPcanbeformattedasindividualpresentations,small-grouporpaneldiscussions.ThefocusofAOPisnotonlyoninformationfindingandsorting,butalsoonthecapacitytopackagematerialsintoalogicallycoherent,culturallypalatableandethicallyacknowledgedexposition.Asaresult,AOPiswidelyusedasanapproachtopresentresearchprojects,assessacademiccapacityandsocializestudentsintotheacademicdiscoursecommunity(Duff,2010;Zappa-Hollman,2007).ln,Psnecedednaisaimedatachievingfull-scaleacademiccommunication,understandingandcompassion.INTRODUCTIONUnit1 32 2 AOPCommunicativeCompetenceCommunicativecompetenceasaconceptwasputforwardbyDellHymesin1966inresponsetoNoamChomsky’s(1965)notionof“linguisticcompetence”.Itreferstotheintuitivefunctionalknowledgeandcontroloftheprinciplesoflanguageusage.AsHymesobserves:“...anormalchildacquiresknowledgeofsentencesnotonlyasgrammatical,butalsoasappropriate.Heorsheacquirescompetenceastowhentospeak,whennot,andastowhattotalkaboutwithwhom,when,where,inwhatmanner.Inshort,achildbecomesabletoaccomplisharepertoireofspeechacts,totakepartinspeechevents,andtoevaluatetheiraccomplishmentbyothers.”(Hymes,1972,277)ittobyinLinguisticUnderstandingandusing:vocabulary

Usingtechniquesto:overcomelanguagegaps

Strategiclanguageconventions(grammar,punctuationandspelling)syntax(e.g.,sentencestructure)

planandassesstheeffectivenessofcommunicationachieveconversationalfluencymodifytextforaudienceandpurposeCommunicativeCompetenceTheabilitytounderstandanduselanguageeffectivelytocommunicateinauthenticsocialandschoolenvironmentsHavingawarenessof:lsfe,,politeness,directness)nonverbalbehavioursculturalreferences(e.g.,idioms,expressions,backgroundknowledge)Socio-linguistic

Understandinghowideasareconnectedthrough:patternsoforganizationcohesiveandtransitionaldevicesDiscourseINTRODUCTIONUnit1PAGEINTRODUCTIONUnit1PAGE11 PAGE6新时代大学英语口语教程PAGE6新时代大学英语口语教程——学术交流Linguisticcompetence(abilitytogrammaticallycorrectutterances)Linguisticcompetencereferstothetheoreticallyrestrictedcapacitythatenablesspeakerstoproduceandunderstandaninfinitenumberofsentences,andtodistinguishgrammaticalsentencesfromungrammaticalsentences.Toputitinasimpleway,itmeansalanguageusershouldhavefullknowledgeofphonetics,phonology,vocabulary,syntaxandsemanticssothathe/shecanmakerightpronunciation/intonationandcreategrammaticallycorrectutterance.Sociolinguisticcompetence(abilitytosocioculturallyappropriateutterances)cesoeyoeetsydyappropriateforacademiccontexts.Theappropriatenessdependsonthesettingofthecommunication,thetopic,therelationshipsamongthepeopleandmoreovertheculture-specificnorms,values,beliefs,andbehavioralpatterns.Discoursecompetence(abilitytocoherentandcohesiveutterances)DiscoursecompetencereferstothecapacitytocomposecohesiveandcoherentAOPtextsandtocomprehendtheacademicoraltextsthusproduced.Itisconcernedwithorganizingwords,phrasesandsentencessoastoservedifferentgenresofAOP,suchasclasspresentation,lecture,commencementspeechor3MT,etc.Strategiccompetence(abilitytosolvecommunicationproblemsastheyarise)Strategiccompetencereferstotheabilitytodealwithcommunicationbreakdowns.ItisimportantforthefuturescholarstobeawarethatcommunicationbreakdownsarenotuncommoninAOP.Forinstance,sometimesatechnicaltermmayeasilyskipthemindofaspeaker,oralistenermaynotreallyfollowthespeaker,thusthepersonwillplantoeitherparaphrase,oraskinformationcheckingquestions(ICQs)tomakeitclear.Insomeothercaseswhenthecommunicationisunexpectedlyinterruptedorishinderedduetomisunderstanding,thespeakershouldknowhowtorestorecommunicationbyrepetitionorreinterpretation.3 3 AOPLanguageStyleToachievecommunicativecompetence,AOPhasdevelopedalanguagestyleofitsown:itisrelativelyformal,objectiveandaccurateinlinguisticsense;explicitindiscourseorganization;andaudience-friendlyinsociolinguisticdimension.I I FormalSinceAOPisoftenconductedonformalacademicoccasions,itissupposedtobeindedearl.oeal,erulesshouldbeapplied:Useformalwordsratherthanidiomaticexpressions.Inthissense,formalverbsarepreferredoverbalphraseshmultiple,e.g.“declin”isbettern“godow”.Usegrammaticallycorrectandcompletesentencestructures.Avoidsimpleloosesentences,thoughthesentencepatterninAOPisnotsogrammaticallycomplexandlexicallydenseasthatinacademicwriting.Thefollowingisachartofformalandinformalverbs:informalformalinformalformalseemappearwholecompleteclimbascendwrongincorrecthelpassistworseinferiorstopceasedimindistinctbegincommenceenoughsufficientuseconsumebettersuperiorshortendecreasecleartransparentshowdemonstrateunderstandingcomprehensiongodepartlackdeficiencywantdesirechanceopportunityaskenquireinchargeresponsibilityendfinishluckyfortunatetellinformsightvisiongetobtainintheendfinallykeeppreserveatonceimmediatelysaynorejectatfirstinitiallyfreereleaseonandoffintermittentlymendrepairmainlyprincipallyneedrequirenextcontiguousliveresidesothereforekeepretainII II ObjectiveSinceAOPconcernsmainlyaboutacademicresearchesandfindings,theexpressionsaresupposedtobeobjective.Forthatpurpose:Passivevoiceratherthanactivevoiceismoreoftenadopted.Adverbsshowingfeelings(e.g.remarkably,amazingly)areavoided.Evidenceandjustificationshouldbeprovidedforanyclaimsmade.Hedgingortentativelanguageratherthanabsolutestatementsareused,bably,may,could,itislikelythat...IIIIIIAccurateWhenspeakinginacademiccontexts,presentersaresupposedtobeaccurateandprecise.Asaresult,specificwordsratherthanvagueorgeneraltermsareused.Inthecaseoffiguresorvalues,however,anapproximatedescriptionismoreoftenadopted,sincepresentinglargenumbersinAOPismuchmoredemandingthaninacademicwriting.Itiseithertoocomplicatedforthespeakertoassimilateorallyortoodifficultforlistenerstoremember.Forinstance,itisbettertoreport967,365,128as“around1billion”inAOP.IV IV ExplicitSimilartoacademicwriting,coherenceandcohesivenessalsomatteralotinAOP,althoughtcsedocehv.oaePaydyorganized,appropriatetransitionsignalsareusuallygiventoindicatehowthepresentationisstructuredandhowdifferentpartsareinterrelatedtoeachother.Forinstance,“inaddition”isusedtoindicatenewinformation;“while”mayshowacontrast;and“likewise”canhelpconnectsimilarideas.V V Audience-friendlyAcademicasitis,AOPisessentiallyinteractiveandinterpersonalaswell.Hence,itissignificanttouseaudience-orientedexpressionstogetlistenersfullyinvolvedinthepresentation.Thatis:Employpoliteandcourtesyexpressionstoshowrespect.Addresstheaudiencewiththepluralpronoun“we”ortheimperative“let’s”tomakethespeakerapartoftheaudience.Beconstantlyindexicaltoprompttheaudience’slinkwiththepresentation.Inthisprocess,numeroussignals(paralinguisticeffects,intonationorsuchgambitas“Asyouhaveprobablynoticed...”)couldbeusedtoguidetheaudienceandcallontheirexperienceorknowledge.4 4 AOPProcessAOPisauniqueopportunityforscholarstopresentandsharefindingsfromaparticularstudyoranalysis.ThecommongenresofAOPincludeclasspresentations,seminarpresentations,lectures,conferencepresentations,thesisdefenses,3MTpresentationsandcommencementspeeches.Ingeneral,tomakeasuccessfulacademicoralpresentationinvolvesthefollowingsteps:I AOPI AOPPreparationAOPishighlycoachable.Inamatterofhours,withcarefulpreparation,anyideaorcontentcanbetransformedfrommuddledtomesmerizing.ThestepslistedbelowaredesignedtohelpAOPspeakersprepareforapowerfulpresentationfromscratch:TopicselectionKnowyourpurpose—AOPingeneralistoservetwopurposes,toinformortopersuade.ForanAOPspeaker,theforemosttaskistoknowthepurposeandmakesurethatthetopicfitstherhetoricalsituation.Choosewhatyoulike—Thespeakershouldcareaboutthetopic.Itwillbedifficulttomakethespeechappealingifthespeakerhasnointerestinitatall.Narrowyourtopicdown—Theessentialpartoftopicselectionistopickabroadareaandgraduallynarrowitdowntoamanageabletopic.Themorefocuseditis,theeasieritwillbetodoresearchandmakepresentation.Makeiteye-catching—Lastbutnotleastistomakethetopicspecific,innovativeandeasytounderstand.Audienceanalysis2.AudienceanalysisItisalwaysagoodideaforAOPspeakerstodevelopafullawarenessoftheaudience.Throughobservation,inferenceandsurvey,speakerscangetabetterunderstandingoftheiraudience.Inthisprocess,demographiccharacteristicsoftheaudienceshouldbetakenintoconsideration,suchasage,gender,language,ethnicity,culture,education,backgroundknowledge,needsandinterests,previouslyheldbeliefsandvalues.AudienceanalysisisthefundamentalstageofAOPpreparation,whichhelpsdesignaspeechthatwillsuittheaudiencebest.Otherwise,evenifthetopicissignificant,thepresentationmayturnouttobeafailure.Contentdesign3.ContentdesignOnceatopichasbeendecidedandenoughaudienceanalysishasbeendone,itistimetoaddresscontentdesign.Thefirstfactortobeconsideredisthetimelimit.DifferentAOPgenresmayhavedifferenttimeframe.Forinstance,the3MTallowsspeakersonly3minutes,whileathesisdefensemaylastfor1-2hours.Asaresult,thecontentshouldbetailoredinaccordancewiththetimerequirement.Theseconddecisivefactorislogic(coherenceandcohesion).ThebestAOPsusuallyfollowaquestion-exploration-answerpattern,whichislooselyidenticaltothenarrativestructureofadetectivestory.Thespeakerusuallystartsoutbypresentingachallengingproblemandthendescribeshowtosearchforasolution.Astheaudienceexplorestogetherwiththespeaker,meaningfulandenlighteningcommunicationwillbeachieved.Handoutpreparation4.HandoutpreparationTobetterpresentanidea,creatingcompellingPPThandoutsiscrucial,sinceitwillnotonlyguidetheaudiencethroughthepresentation,butalsoprovideattendeeswithvaluableinformationthattheycouldturntowhenevertheywant.Herearesometipsthatwillhelpyoucreateanimpressivepresentationhandout:HighlightpresentationpointsandprovidedetailedinformationaboutpresentationtopicsComplementtheinformationthatisonlygivenverbally.Buildontheinformationthatisnotfullycoveredinthepresentationandoffermoreresourcesthatmaybeofhelpforfutureorfollow-upresearch.aII AOPDeliveryDressproperlyandbeprofessionalandelegant.Speakconfidently,comfortablyandclearly.Donotreadthespeech.Thetextshouldbeacueforthepresenterratherthanamessagefortheviewer.Itisoftenmoreeffectivetohavebulletpointsappearoneatatimesotheaudiencelistenstothepresenterratherthanreadingthescreen.Usepowerfulvisualstogetthepointacross.aMakethebestofcommunicativestrategiessuchasaskingquestions,maintainingeyecontactorusingvividbodylanguagetoenhancecomprehensionandelicitanemotionalresponsefromtheaudience.IIIIIIAOPEvaluationItisimperativetoadoptaprovenframeworkofthinkingtoarriveatsounddecisions.Hence,“SixHatsStrategies”proposedbyDr.EdwarddeBonocanhelpdecidewhetheranAOPissuccessfulornot.“SixHatsStrategies”isaneffectiveapproachtoclear,criticalandcreativethinking,whichsuggestsinvestigatinganissuefromarangeofperspectives.HereintheSixThinkingHatsrepresentsixdifferentmodesofthinking.WHITEHATdealswithfacts,figuresandinformation.Itisatestonobjectivity.Whatinformationhasbeenavailable?Whatmoreinformationshouldbeacquired?REDHATcoversemotions,feelings,hunchesandintuition.Itallowsthespeakertoexpresshisorherfeelingsonthesubject.HowdoIfeelaboutthismatterrightnow?BLACKHATisabouttruth,judgement,fittingthefacts.Itcallsforcautionandensuresthattheweaknessesofthepresentationhavebeenfullyexamined.Doestheargumentfitthefacts?Willitwork?Isitsafe?Canitbedone?YELLOWHATisaboutadvantages,benefitsandsavings.Itisresponsibleforaccessingpositivityandlookingcloselyatthepossiblevalues.Whywillthisworkandhowwillitofferbenefits?GREENHATdealswithexploration,proposal,suggestions,andalternativesforaction.Itisahatofcreativity,whichinvitesthespeakertoexploreunchartedterritoriesanddivertfromoldtactics.Whatelsecanbedone?Aretheresomedifferentideas?BLUEHATconcernsthelayoutortheoverallstructureofthinking.Itaddressesnotthesubjectofthinkingbutthethinkingprocessitselformetacognition.Whatexplorationhasbeendonesofar?Whattypesofthinkingshouldbeadoptednext?Imaginefull-colorprintingonpaper,eachofthebasiccolorsisprintedseparatelybutthedifferentcolorscometogethertogivefullcolor.Itisexactlythesamewithsix-hatthinking.Thecolorsaretreatedseparatelysoastogivefullplaytoeachcolor.Thenthecolorscometogethertogiveusfull-colorthinking.Thereisatraditionalassociationbetweencaps/hatsandthinking.Hatsoftendefinearolepeopleareplayingatthemoment:abaseballcap,asoldie’shelmet,anurse’scap,etc.Mostimportantofall,hatscaneasilybeputonandtakenoff.Theyarenotcategories.Insteadoflabellingpeopleandputtingthemintoboxes,thehatsaretheretoencouragepeopletousealltypesofthinking.(Adaptedfrom:EdwardDeBono.TeachYourChildHowtoThink)5 5 ActivitiesActivity1Activity1Assignthefollowingcommunicationsamplestofourgroupsofstudentseachwithonesample.Askstudentstoparaphrasethegivensampleandidentifywhichcommunicativecompetencementionedinthisunitislacking.Sample1“OK,Sample1“OK,nowmoveyourcursoroverandchoosethescenefromthemenu.”“Fromthewhat?”“Themenu.”“Menu?Whydotheycallitamenu?”“Well,'causeyouchoosefromalist.Justlikeinarestaurant.Amenu.”“Oh,OK.”Sample2”(interrupts)“Dude,yougonnaaskmeabunchoflamequestions?”“Ah...lamequestions